Cinderella
by ZenAngelSan
Summary: The events that happened left Kahoko confused, Kira disturbed, Azuma indifferent, Kiriya irritated, Len surprised, Kazuki speechless, Frederrick feeling faint, Misa cheery, the Water Island king grinning and the crowd and royal families silent.
1. Chapter 1: The Meeting

Cinderella

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda D'Oro.

Chapter 1: The Meeting

Back in the Olden times, also known as the Middle Ages, the English ruled over the world. It was a powerful and overwhelming era. While other lands were dominated by the English, there was a tiny little country not found on any of the maps, a land where fairies, dragons and other mystical creatures roamed. Some say they have seen this wondrous little country and thus the birth of fairytales of dragons scaring people in tiny villages and knights would save damsels in distress on their trusty steeds.

However, nobody has ever mentioned of this place which the natives call as Seiso, the mystical land. Seiso was broken up into four regions. Each was ruled by four powerful royal families. Three regions were connected to each other, while one strayed not too far from them.

The Earth Region was located at the northern part of Seiso. It was named as such as it was surrounded by all of the plants on the face of the earth and large canyons. The Earth Region was by far the largest compared to the rest. The castle was surrounded by several lush forests where the village folk lived in to protect themselves from the trolls that lived inside the swamps just opposite the forests. This region is ruled by the Yunoki family. The current head of the family would be the king's mother and the former queen as the king is in his sickbed.

The Air Land was beside it. It was located on the eastern part of Seiso. It is characterized by the strong winds that would turn the windmills all day. This land is famous for its numerous advances in technology in accordance to flying. The place is always windy and so people live on the ground. However, they were always terrorized the giant, Tiny or so he calls himself. They were all ruled over an unknown king and his family. The Air Land people did not mind as long as they knew that they were somehow guided by somebody.

The Fire Territory was the second biggest among the four. The land was covered by volcanoes that the people use as a livelihood and house made of lava rocks which were smoothen out by their top-notch blacksmiths. They were most famous for the best knight school. They needed the knights if they wanted the dragons that lived in the volcanoes to stop bothering them. They were ruled by the hot-tempered head of the Kiriya family.

The last but not the least was the Water Island. It was the only region that was surrounded by water thus the name. Although it is separated from the mainland, people have no trouble crossing over to them as all it required was a small boat to go to the land. The land is famous for being the safest and it's also the quietest in the land of Seiso. Their main livelihood was trading as they were only beside the Pacific Ocean, the gate to the outside world. The only mystical creatures that ever bother them would be the playful fairies that live around the small forest of Water Island. The kind-hearted yet strict Tsukimori family ruled over the peaceful village.

However, something was happening around Water Island as the village was bustling in noise. People here and there were scurrying with flags or decorations in their hands. The baker was busy baking cakes and sweets in his tiny bakeshop and the messengers from the castle were riding in their beautiful horses as they made their way through the crowds.

The castle was no different. The king was attending to different messengers from nobles all around the land of Seiso, while the queen was talking to the royal party planner. The maids were busy cleaning the place in their pristine white and black uniforms and the butlers were overseeing the preparations of decorations around the palace. The cooks were busy making the best food and well, **everybody was busy.**

But, why?

"It's almost time for the ball!" A person squealed as she clasped her hands together and danced with glee. "Cut it out, Mio," The friend of said-girl exclaimed as she smacked her head with a dirty rag. "Ouch. That hurt, Nao and this rag smells," Mio complained as she picked up her fallen feather duster and resumed her job as she dusted a priceless ming vase displayed on the long corridor. Suddenly, they both heard a thud from the other end of the hallway.

Mio and Nao turned to the direction of the noise and quickly dropped their things as they made a dash to the sound. They both ran with all their might, Mio held onto her skirt as not to trip, while Nao just simply ran. They wondered what had happened.

As soon as they rounded the corner, they stopped, paused for a minute or two and sighed in relief. They exclaimed in unison, "You scared us to death, Kahoko!" The red-head grinned sheepishly in her awkward position. She laid flat on the floor with a glimmering vase with oriental designs resting snugly in between her arms. Her one leg was up, hitching her skirt lightly. Her head was slanted and her hair was all messed up from under her maid cap.

Mio picked the expensive looking vase from Kahoko's arms, looking at it with keen interest. Nao picked the crystal post where the vase had fallen from, Mio placed the vase on it before polishing it with Kahoko's rag, while Kahoko picked herself up. The red-head dusted herself clean, fixing her fallen cap and her dirtied uniform. As soon as everything was fixed, Nao scolded, "You should be more careful, Kahoko! The things here would cost you more money than five small houses." She paused, rubbing her temples. Kahoko sheepishly bowed her head in shame, while Mio just looked on at the scene.

Kahoko squeaked out, "I'm really, really sorry, Nao." She twiddled her pointer fingers nervously as Nao sighed. The brunette patted Kahoko's head and sighed again, "It's alright as long as you didn't get hurt. It's a good thing that you were able to catch it anyway. You ARE new in this business." Kahoko gave out a shy smile. She had just started a week ago and instantly she befriended the brunette and her friend.

"Well, I hope you girls had your fun."

The three maids visibly jumped as another voice surprised them. Mio quickly turned around and gasped, "Oh, Mr. Akihiko." Kahoko turned around to look at the young-looking middle aged man. He was wearing his suave brown suit as usual and his yellow silk dress shirt. His black hair was sleek and clean, while his brown eyes held an indifferent gaze.

"Well, don't just dilly dally in the hallways. Get back to work." Kira Akihiko announced coolly and with a wave of his hand towards the right, Mio and Nao gave Kahoko an apologetic glance before they scurried away. Well, Nao managed to give Kira a menacing glare before she left. If he did notice it, he didn't make a comment of it as he looked down on Kahoko. Kahoko gulped as she held tightly onto her rag, squeezing it tightly in her hands.

Kira Akihiko was in charge of the maintenance of the castle. He was also a personal assistant to the king and queen, along with a few chosen others. He taught the prince a few subjects to substitute if ever Hiroto Kanazawa was not around or he was playing around with that fat cat. He knew…he just knew that this girl would be trouble one day.

Kira narrowed his eyes before whipping up a bucket from one of the passing maids. The maid was surprised at first before she realized it was him. She quickly bowed and went to get another bucket. Kira scoffed, thinking if he had been somebody else, she would have scolded him. He was interrupted from his train of thought when he heard Kahoko shift her black shoes on the carpeted floor. His eye twitched, not only was this girl annoying, she was also impolite. He shoved the bucket onto the poor girl. He smirked lightly when she let out a small "oof" as her dainty hands grabbed the bucket from him.

"Get water from the well outside," he commanded. The girl didn't ask why which was a good thing. She excused herself before running into the direction of the gardens. On his face, a faint smirk lingered on his face before he went back to attend to other matters.

"WHO DOES THAT MAN THINK HE IS ANYWAY?!" Kahoko screamed, scaring a few birds as they fluttered away. She flung her arms up to the air as the silver bucket she held swung to and fro. She stomped with a few blades of grass flying here and there. She growled visibly as she stomped further into the maze-like garden. The garden was decorated and filled with beautiful flowers and prettily shaped bushes. It was almost as big as the whole village. It was also the place where they harvested some of their fruits and vegetables.

Kahoko, unmindful of her surroundings, continued her way into the garden. She was still on the verge of tearing Kira Akihiko's face apart which was probably what caused her to accidentally walk into the green labyrinth. She kept on stomping further and further into the maze and when she finally realized where she was, she was standing on a leafy corridor with four more corridors branching towards it.

The red-head gulped, trying to find her way out. She heard from other people that keeping a hand against the wall would help her out. She tried it, but it only got her even more lost. She groaned, "I was supposed to keep my hand on the wall FROM the start." She whimpered as she looked at the rusted bucket in her hand. "How did I get into this much trouble to only get a bucket of water?" she complained, sitting down on the grass.

Well, she wasn't the only one lost in the labyrinth though the term "lost" would be inappropriate for its other occupant.

Somewhere deeper in the maze, a little glowing circle twirled around, spinning around crazily. It let out a sigh as the circle suddenly popped as a boy, no bigger than a hand appeared. He had elf-like ears with bright blonde hair on the top of his head. His hair adorned small purple leaves. He wore a blue outfit and blue shoes, and held a tiny wand. His eyes were the brightest shades of blue and it clearly held boredom in them.

"It's no fun around this maze anymore. I've been here a thousand times and I know this labyrinth like the back of my hand," the tiny figure sighed, lazily floating in the air. He was the fairy of music, Lili. He folded his arms behind his head and he sighed again, "I wish something would happen around here…nothing ever happens in Water Island."

He continued to drift uselessly in the air, humming some unknown tune. As he flew backwards from left to right of the intricate grass labyrinth, he could have sworn he heard some sort of sound when he collided to a wall. He was sure that wall couldn't have been grass, because it didn't feel itchy and didn't make a crunch, the sound that he heard went more like "oof".

Lili quickly flew off the girl's face. The girl groaned, rubbing her nose. She whined, "What was that?" Lili peered at the fallen bucket on the ground and Kahoko was still wincing as she felt her reddening nose. Lili merely shrugged and sighed, "Just a commoner…"

"Who's there?" The red-head exclaimed glancing around her surroundings as she looked left and right from panic. Lili gasped, and then he observed the girl very carefully. Her flaming red hair was pulled back in a tight bun with a few loose strands of hair poking out here and there. The white cap on her head and the black and white uniform was made out of its usual lace

So, why?

"Eek!" she suddenly shrieked as her giant auburn orbs grew wider. Lili could've sworn that she was staring directly at him. "W-what are you?!" she stuttered, shakily pointing her index finger at him. It was official…she can see him. Lili was very, very, very curious. He circled around the girl several times, checking her out. No matter how many times he looked at her, she was just a commoner.

Kahoko stood there, trying to swat at the creature who dodged them effortlessly. Seeing as her attempts were feeble, she grabbed the fallen bucket and swung the metal container hard. However, she had swung too hard and was sent into a 360 degree spin.

Lili had managed to dodge it the first swing, but he didn't know that a second one shortly followed it and with the right momentum and timing, the bucket hit his poor head hard. The contact made a huge clang and Lili was sent flying out of the maze.

Kahoko landed on the green grass beneath as she let go of the bucket. She gasped when she noticed that the bucket had a small dent in the form of the little creature. She picked it back up and squeezed the handle tightly as she marched forward to find the exit again. This time, her instincts helped her. She just hoped that no one would notice that the bucket had a bonus on it.

After about an hour or so, Kahoko finally spotted two hedges that were NOT connected to each other. She ran straight into it and sighed in relief when she finally spotted the well beside it. She tied the bucket to the rope sticking out of the well. She tested it, tugging on it before dropping it to the seemingly bottomless hole. She heard the bucket hit the water with a splash. When she was sure the bucket was filled up, she hoisted it up and untied the rope.

She grabbed the bucket which was heavier with the force of gravity. She decided that since she was in a hurry. She would have to walk through the stables to make the trip faster. She brisk walked across the huge garden all the while making sure that the water did not spill. She sighed in relief when she saw the straw and wood stalls.

Suddenly, she could hear the hooves of a horse, pounding onto the ground. She dared to look at the rapidly approaching footsteps. The horse was barely a meter away from her. She stood there frozen in fear when she suddenly heard felt someone tug her out of the way. She gasped in shock when the horse galloped on where she was supposedly standing. "Are you okay?" a person inquired from behind her. She shakily nodded her head.

The person spun her around and brown met brown. Her savior had rugged green hair with a few hay in his hair. He wore a dirty white long sleeved shirt which was topped with a brown vest and brown pants that were folded up to the knees. They were close enough that Kahoko could smell the strong scent of nature and grass on him.

The tall, dark skinned man realized their distance and quickly let her go. He rubbed his head sheepishly before extending a hand and said, "Wow that must have been some experience. I'm Ryoutaro Tsuchiura by the way." Kahoko took his hand in hers and shook it. She replied, "I'm Kahoko Hino. Thanks for saving my life back there."

The man shrugged and casually said, "Just doing my job as a citizen." Kahoko laughed slightly before she noticed that the bucket was not in her hand anymore. She turned again to that spot and winced, "The bucket…" The bucket had capsized and the water had spread across the grass and appeared as dew. "Mr. Akihiko is going to kill me!" Kahoko screamed in panic. She then looked at Ryoutaro with pleading brown eyes. A green eyebrow rose as he looked at her questioningly. When he finally got the message, he immediately denied her, "No way. I'm not giving into those puppy dog eyes of yours."

After a few moments, the bucket was refilled again, but it wasn't anymore in the maid's hand, but rather it was in another's. Kahoko's companion sighed for the third time. She clasped her hands together and apologized. Ryoutaro merely mumbled, "I wonder how you were able to con me into doing your work…" They entered the castle through the kitchen where the royal chefs were bustling with work as they ran around here and there. They ducked when a tomato had come, flying out from nowhere and continued on inside.

When they had reached the long corridors of the castle, Ryoutaro gave the bucket back to Kahoko. He reminded, "Be careful and don't trip again. I won't be around anymore to draw you more water." Kahoko laughed at the comment and then, she asked, "Do you work on the stables, Tsuchiura?" The said man scratched his head and nodded. She smiled before saying, "See you around, stable boy."

She turned around quickly. She giggled when she heard Ryoutaro huff at her. She then heard the messy clomping of his boots on the carpeted floor as he made his way back to the kitchen. It was then that she realized that Kira Akihiko was going to kill her…very, very soon. She quickly made her way back to where she was working before. Mio and Nao were still dusting the vases and other ornaments. She sighed in relief when she saw Akihiko was nowhere in sight.

She jumped in surprise when a mustached man came out behind her. He was balding and looked around his 50's. He was stout and wore a red striped shirt with a pair of black pants that reached to his knees and knee-high socks. His nose was pointed and his black eyes stared at her in disgust. He was one of the messengers, a so-called follower of Kira Akihiko and the most disliked person among the staff. His name was Frederrick Monsterque though most people just liked to call him Fred the Monster.

In his eerily high-pitched voice, Fred announced, "You three shall be in charge for the meantime of cleaning the prince's room. You shall prepare his bed, draw his bath and oh yes, straighten out his room." He clapped his hands when the maids did not budge. "Chop, chop, ladies. Sir Akihiko does not like lazy, no-good maids and oh, I'm looking at them." He added, smirking before leading the way. It took all of Nao's will and strength not to pounce on the rude man. They started walking behind him and kept there distance a foot away from him. Whispers were exchanged between them.

"I've been waiting for this chance to even catch a glimpse of the prince!"

"Oh stop it, Mio. You sound like a lovesick fool."

"Have you guys ever seen the prince before?"

"Nope."

"No, but I hear that he's very handsome and that he has amazing skills on the violin!"

"Oh yeah. He got that from the king and queen. They are, after all, also talented. The king can play the violin, while the queen is mighty good on the piano."

"Amazing. Ugh, this bucket is killing me."

"Here let me help you, Kaho. What took you so long anyways?"

"Yeah. I heard Mister Akihiko cursing where the blazes have you gone to."

Kahoko's gulp was very much audible. She stammered, "Err…i-it's a long story." Before they could question any further, Fred had announced that they had reached the prince's quarters. The girls stared at the huge doors leading to the prince's room. The doors were the size of trees and were littered with intricate designs of musical notes and an orchestra playing on the bottom of the door. Fred pushed the door open and the girls' mouths nearly dropped to the floor.

The room was as big as three small houses. The king-sized bed to their right was colored gold and its wallpaper was beige with brown rectangles that were arranged in a straight horizontal line. The window frame was colored white when one peered unto it, they would get a clear view of the beautiful, clear water and the bustling village. The prince's desk was beside the window. It was made of mahogany which was said to have been imported from another country. Surprisingly, it was neat. The scrolls were arranged neatly in an elegant black case. Papers were placed on top and were clipped together.

In fact, it wasn't just the desk that was neat. The whole room was clean enough that it had seemed like they need not clean it anymore. Kahoko though spotted a particular section of the room that seemed to have been recently used. The bookshelf was made of wood from the Earth Region's strongest tree. It was made to hold books that could weigh tons though the top of the bookshelf was neat…the bottom was a different story. Thousands of thin books were crammed into any available space. Kahoko went near it and examined one as she picked it up. To her, it didn't seem at all interesting. They were all figures, swirly and straight figures, and dozens of them on four small lines. She had never been educated though she knew well enough that these were called, "musical notes". She traced her fingers across the pages. She looked like she was memorizing the notes, like she was in a trance.

A cough snapped her back to reality as she quickly placed the book back in its place. Fred had not yet left the room and had been standing behind her. She noticed that Mio and Nao had disappeared. They had probably gone to the double door just opposite the main entrance of the room. Fred got her attention again as he told her in that irritating voice of his, "Get to work, maid. Don't just daydream there. Move!"

Kahoko flinched before she reluctantly rearranged the scattered books. Fred smirked in satisfaction before he literally waltzed out of the room. She grumbled, "I could just kill him…"

"What was that?" Fred asked as he reappeared at the door. Kahoko immediately looked up and faked a smile before saying, "Nothing, sir." The messenger glared at her and with a huff, left the room. The redhead sighed in relief before growling. The notebook in her hand was almost ripped to pieces until she was interrupted…again by another voice though this time, it didn't sound like Frederrick. It sounded a lot more masculine, but not as masculine as Ryoutaro's.

"What are you doing to those score sheets?"

Kahoko turned her head slowly and when she was finally facing the person, she came face to face with his leather boots. She hurriedly stood up and looked at the guy, the score sheets in her hand. Two words came across her mind when she looked at the guy: handsome and aloof. He had pretty face. That was no mistake. With those piercing gold eyes, cute nose and white, porcelain skin, the only thing that seemed to ruin it was the seemingly permanent scowl on his face. Somehow, Kahoko knew that that frown of his was always on his face. His hair was the unusual color of blue.

He wore a silk black cape on top of his blue, beautifully made double-buttoned coat. The pin and badges on his outfit glimmered smugly and she noticed that he had worn black trousers to complete it. He held onto his cold stare as he held out a gloved hand like a silent order to hand him the pieces of paper in her hand, however, Kahoko didn't get it as she stared at the outstretched hand. Just then, Mio and Nao came out of the large bathroom. Mio gasped as she curtsied and Nao followed suit, while as Kahoko was still in the dark. The young man sighed, "Hand me back my score sheets."

That was when realization hit her.

He was the prince…the prince?!

Kahoko handed him the object in her hand as quickly and politely as possible. She bowed slightly before squeaking out, "Yes, your Highness." The prince dismissed her with her with a cold stare as Kahoko immediately walked out with Nao and Mio closely following behind her as they excused themselves.

As soon as they exited the room, Kahoko slumped against the closed door. Mio and Nao quickly went down by her side. She covered her eyes with her hands in anguish and said, her voice muffled, "I've embarrassed myself in front of the prince!" Nao merely patted her back, while Mio was seeing stars. "He's gorgeous! A dream!" the pep girl squealed excitedly. Nao sighed in exasperation as Mio continued on while still patting Kahoko. She then told the redhead, "At least, that would most probably be the last time you'll meet the prince. We never see him much anyway."

The words she spoke were more or less true, but that was all about to change as the little fairy left alone in a tree slowly regained consciousness. "Ow…my head." He grumbled bitterly, clutching the poor bump and then he winced from the pain. He then remembered, "Oh, yes! I need to inform the elder!" He flew excitedly towards his village. This was news…BIG news.

Author's Note: I decided to leave it off here. So, it's La Corda D'Oro in Medieval period. I'm following to the original plot closely with a few twists of my own. I am foremost a LenKaho fan and I planned for this fic to be one though now I think it would all depend on the readers. I want you guys to vote who would end up with Kahoko and yes, it's definitely going to be a little ShimizuxShouka. Here are your choices: **Len, Ryou, Etou, Azuma, Kazuki, Kaji**. Remember the one with the most votes, I would stick with that pairing. So readers, I might not be able update this fic quick, but I will try my best. Sorry for any grammatical and spelling errors and wish you all a Happy New Year! Enjoy. –Z-san

PS. I badly need a beta!


	2. Chapter 2: The Announcement

Cinderella

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda D'Oro and the summary of the real Cinderella

Chapter 2: The Announcement

"Hmm…is that so?" A wrinkled voice asked with only the light from the small lamp reflecting his face. His companion nodded, standing up from his crouched position. "What are we to do, elder?" the younger questioned respectfully. The older of the two looked up to the darkening sky as he spoke in his wise voice, "We wait, lad, until the time is right."

Kahoko was tired. Oh, she was more than tired…she was **dead** tired. She collapsed on the broken mattress that served as their couch. Her two friends fell in right after her, sighing. The whole day they had been cleaning, fixing, decorating, helping out the cook, running around here and there, carrying this and that from the opposite ends of the castle, obeying the royal family's orders, getting scolded by Kira and even managing to squeeze in some argue time with Fred. Currently, they were staring at the beautiful sunset as the colors of orange, red and yellow meshed with each other. "Well, at least everything's prepared for the party already." Kahoko moaned, squeezing her sore arm to soothe the tiredness.

"Ah hem."

Nao groaned, "I think you spoke too soon." She rested a hand of her face, trying to ignore the unnerving stare that Fred was giving the three of them. He had begun tapping his foot impatiently on the ground when the three refused to get up. He coughed the second time. However, the maids were all too tired to even get up. It was only when Kira entered that they scrambled to get back…ignoring their aching limbs for the moment.

"The queen requests for some maids to attend to her…additional party preparations, so you three will be there and bring Amou with you. She's been doing nothing all day." Kira told them as they bowed low before passing by the two men and out the door. Mio went to find for Amou while Nao glared at the two. Kahoko could've sworn that she heard Fred squealing at Kira. She shuddered at the thought before wearily tilting her neck until she heard a pop. Yep, that felt good. In a few minutes, Mio was back with a tired looking Nami Amou.

Nami Amou was usually a cheery, ready-for-anything type of girl. She had semi-curly blonde hair and blue eyes that would sparkle, but today it seemed like she had no energy to do anything. Kahoko was about to question Nami's state when she was pulled away by Mio. Mio whispered, "She's down with the flu and is in no condition to work. That's why she was cooped up in the room." They looked over at the blonde as she started to sneeze. Kahoko murmured, "I think we should just let her rest in some place where Mr. Akihiko won't find her." Mio nodded and, as quick as her body permitted her to, went to take Nami somewhere else.

"Amou is so lucky." Nao sighed, cracking her fingers. Kahoko patted Nao on the shoulder and said, "Let's just get to work and think of punching the lights out of them later." Nao chuckled, "Sounds like a plan to me." Mio came back again, panting from running towards them. She clenched her fast beating heart and she bended, trying to catch her breath. "I…seriously…need more…exercise," she managed to say in between pants. Kahoko and Nao laughed as they both placed their hands behind her back to push her to their destination.

The three of them walked through the massive halls of the castle. They commented on some of the paintings along the way and they would relate things that happened to them. Other than that, they kept things quiet as not to disturb any of the occupants in the place. They finally reached their destination: the ballroom.

Kahoko stepped forward before the white marble doors which reflected the sunset's breathtaking view. She timidly raised a hand and knocked on the door. After she rapped it three times, a female, sort of motherly voice answered, "Please do enter." She heard her companions take a deep breath before the three of them pushed the doors together.

If Kahoko thought that the sunset was breathtaking, then the queen could never be compared to a mere sunset. The queen stood in the middle of the ballroom with a scroll tucked in her arm as she commanded a few servants around the room with a point of her finger. Misa Hamai-Tsukimori was the epitome of beauty, grace and poise. She wore a lovely, sleeveless, lime-colored gown that fit her slim body perfectly. Her gold earrings matched her necklace and the white gloves that reached her elbows.

She turned to look at them and then her lips curled into a smile that could melt the hardest souls. Her hair lit up and her bright eyes were full of life. Her aura was warm, like the sun…the exact opposite of her son. Kahoko felt her heart skip a beat…she then told herself, "Wait…no. It's a natural reaction." The queen just gazed at her questioningly before saying, "I assume you must be the maids that Kira has sent to help me…"

The three nodded though they were still unsure of what she wanted them to do. Hamai Misa smiled again before she said, "I'll be needing help with the streamers." She looked at Nao and Mio as she stated, "You two will be more than enough." The two maids bowed and hurriedly went to their jobs.

It was then that Misa looked at Kahoko. Kahoko visibly tensed and seeing this, the queen laughed lightheartedly. "I need you to accompany me to study to get some more things." She made her way towards the door and Kahoko scooted away to give her space. Misa smiled at her again and thanked her. Misa then gestured Kahoko to follow her and giggled when Kahoko walked at least a meter away from her. "I don't bite." She called as she led the way.

With that, they walked further from the ballroom. They rounded a corner and the only that could be heard was the soft clacking of the queen's heels and the maid's ragged shoes scratching on the red carpet beneath them.

They stopped when the queen moved towards a pair of brown wooden doors. Kahoko thought that they were particularly smaller for the study. She studied the heavily designed door with ancient markings and writings until they opened as the people inside it opened for the doors for them…well, the queen only.

The moment Kahoko stepped into the room; she thought that she would get lost all over again. The shelves were about as high as a tree and every corner of it was filled with books of different kinds. The shelves seemed to form a maze pattern. There was a beautifully decorated sofa and green arm chairs on one side and more books on the other. Before they could advance any further into to the room, a guard came to approach them. He held a package in his hand as he bowed lightly before handing it to the queen.

She took the light brown rectangular package from him and checked the sender. "Hmm…from the king of England…"she murmured to herself as she delicately tore off the paper encasing the package. Kahoko peered over curiously when the queen gasped as she read the title, "Fairytales…" The redhead never did know what fairytales were as she watched the queen trail her fingers over the title. The book's lettering which had FAIRYTALES written in bold, solid gold letters. The hard cover was colored a pretty dark green and was made of hard leather. _'The finest that could be found…I bet._' Kahoko thought as she saw Hamai flip through the pages.

Kahoko looked on in awe as each page were filled with words like most books, but this one instead of the dull ones that sat on the shelves of the big library had bright and colorful pictures that perked Kahoko's attention. She could see pictures of knights in shining armor and rode magnificent horses with their shiny swords and would fight against different kinds of monsters that ranged from monsters with ugly faces to dragons that breathe fire. What caught her attention the most however, were the girl's in beautiful dresses, but the gown were not only thing that was eye-catching and gorgeous. The girls had pretty faces and lived in pretty castles.

"They're princesses." Misa said quietly with a kind smile on her face. Kahoko blushed and stammered an apology. The queen retained her smile and closed the book. She then gently pushed the book to Kahoko who grabbed it when it began to fall on the floor. "You can have the book, dear." The queen had told her, making Kahoko look at her with widened eyes. Kahoko started, "I-I can't k-keep this, my queen. It's…"

"I insist."

The queen change of tone made Kahoko shut up as she clenched the book in her hands. The maid stammered an apology and thanked the queen. The older of the two merely smiled as she continued into the deeper part of the library. They walked over several aisles of books until finally stopping when they reached a section labeled "sonnets". She browsed through the spines of the books. She took one labeled "Shakespearean Sonnets" and flipped through it before closing it and gesturing Kahoko to follow her. They moved out of the library as Misa started to explain Kahoko's task, "I'm going to prepare my speech for tonight while you will run a couple of errands for me."

"What kind of errands, your Highness?" Kahoko asked, clutching the book still cradled in her arms. The queen merely smiled, a bone chilling smile that did not seem bad, but neither was it good.

"Kahoko! Where have you been? We've been worried sick." Nao exclaimed, raising her hands in the air and then she paused when she finally looked at Kahoko. She asked, "What happened to you?" Nao examined the huffing and panting Kahoko who was currently leaning against the door frame. Her eyes had purple under them, her hair was misplaced in all directions, her dress was dirtied and her hands were black with soot. The hands that clutched on a book were scratched, but strangely the book seemed clean. She looked haggled and Kahoko swore that she didn't have any legs anymore.

Nao and Mio, who were resting on the sofa, quickly stood up and allowed the redhead to sit. Kahoko sighed in happiness. She tplopped the book aside before her legs gave out. Her arms grew limp at her sides as she relaxed completely on the broken down sofa, not caring if she soiled it with dirt. Nao eased herself into the couch; while Mio ran into the small bathroom of located in the chambermaid's room and quickly found a rag. Mio washed it before returning to where the two were and started to clean Kahoko's hands.

Kahoko smiled slightly before grabbing the small cloth and rubbed her face with it. She dropped the cloth on her face with a deep sigh and her voice was muffled as she mumbled, "I feel like a toy being used by royalty." Nao patted her sympathetically on the shoulder as Mio collapsed onto the floor leaning on the sofa beside Kahoko. The brunette with indigo eyes then asked, "What happened to you anyways?"

Kahoko pinched the cloth and lifted it from her face. She peeked at Mio and groaned, "I had to run from the kitchen to the ballroom to snatch some things for the queen. After that, she asked me to grab a bite for her to eat and then, she asked me to run to the well AGAIN and told me to do that three times." Here she held up three dirtied fingers, emphasizing her point. She sighed and fully removed the cloth and placed it beside her. She cocked her head to the side, making Nao and Mio look at her questioningly. "What's up?" Nao was the first to ask.

Kahoko scratched her head and said, "The last errand she made me do was even weirder than her other errands." Mio asked, "What was it?" The light-haired brunette took the wet rag from Kahoko's side, folded it and placed it on her lap. Nao ushered Kahoko to continue. The redhead tapped a finger to her chin while she said, "her highness asked me to get this pretty gold necklace on her dresser." She then began to recall the incident.

"_Why did she ask me of all people to go to her private quarters?" Kahoko pondered as she stared t the heavy white doors before her. The door was decorated with beautiful engraved silver roses, while the royal family seal was on the top most portion of the door. The seal consisted of a dolphin in a good natured stance with a crown on its head. It represented the peace that Water Island was known for. The design was a lot more intricate than the prince's, but that was to be expected. Without another thought, Kahoko grasped the silver handles and pulled a door open._

_The first thing that greeted her was the heavy scent of a sweet perfume. Kahoko inhaled it deeply and she began to feel great vibes going through her tired body. Her brown eyes scanned the room for the scent. She didn't mind the huge king-sized bed covered in beige sheets with the great wooden pillars supporting the heavy curtain above or the white colored side tables with roses. She didn't even notice the heavy design of the wall littered with designs that only a master made or the beautiful paintings and clutter on it. She didn't bother exploring the lavish bedroom as she did with the prince's room. She let her nose guide her to her destination, the location of the sweet scent. And so, she closed her eyes and let her sense of smell take over._

_Luckily, she didn't fall on the way to it and stopped where the scent smelled the heaviest. When she finally opened her eyes, she realized she had come to the queen's dresser. It had a huge mirror that rested against the wall and the tabele was littered with bottles of all sorts and pretty jewels. The big baubles did not surprise the maid as it was a common sight for royalty to wear them, but one did manage to catch her eye. It was a large necklace that rested in the middle of the open jewelry box. It had a long golden chain that was littered with small jewel so that it sparkled when it was held just right amidst the light. The chain was pretty flashy, but it wasn't that that caught her attention. The long chain held only one thing and that was a giant emerald that rested against a skillfully crafted golden frame with more jewels. It certainly was the most extravagant necklace that the queen seemed to have._

_And then, she suddenly remembered that she was looking for the scent. She looked around the dresser and sniffed for the scent again, but the smell was no longer there. There was also no open bottle that could produce scent. Slightly disappointed and confused, she abruptly grabbed the necklace, also remembering her errand of picking it up. As soon as she touched it though, it started glowing. This, of course, startled and scared Kahoko. On her instincts, she tossed the necklace away from her with a small yelp. _

_As soon as the necklace was out from her hand, it stopped glowing and fell uselessly on the carpeted floor. Kahoko waited for a few more minutes to steady her beating heart before cautiously approaching the necklace. She picked it up using her apron and laid it out on her lap, checking for any damage. She first examined the giant gem and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it was still intact and whole in its silver frame….wait, silver?_

_Kahoko's eyes bulged slightly as she looked at the necklace closely again. Carefully flipping it with her apron, she had confirmed that the once golden frame had turned silver. It wasn't only the frame that had turned silver…the majestically shining gold chain had also turned to a less but still brilliant silver. That was when she began to panic. _

_She tried touching it again. First, she tried just grazing it with her fingertips. When that didn't work, she crushed it in her fist at first hesitantly but after that didn't work again she crushed it harder. That was completely useless too. The necklace now lying on her lap was still silver and she didn't think it would change any time soon. She tested her theory out and waited to see if it would change. After ten minutes of nothing, she decided to give up and weigh her options._

_She could lie to the queen and say that she didn't see it or some other lame excuse like that after the queen had specifically told her of the trait that was visible on that jewel, but not the others…the giant emerald. She sighed to herself, "I'm no good in lying anyway." Here she scratched her head and picked the necklace and cradled it in her hand._

_She then stood up and left the room, wondering how she was going to explain the necklace's situation to the queen. The constant sound of her shoes crumbling the carpet beneath was the only dominant sound in the long corridor. She didn't even notice that she had neared the ballroom again until someone cleared his throat. She snapped at attention out of instinct and she stood up straight. It was Akihiko Kira again._

_Kira was annoyed, very, very annoyed. He had seen her twice in a day and not only that; she was caught day dreaming again. In front of the queen, no less! The said female was behind Kir and she giggled lightly. Kira could tell there was something wrong with her Majesty today, but he decided to not comment it anymore. Just as he was about to lecture her, the queen abruptly cut him off. "Did you manage to get the necklace?" The queen asked like an excited child as she pushed Kira out of the way._

_Whatever thought that Kahoko had had flown out o the window as she shakily extended an arm and unclasped her hand, her fingers slowly moving away to reveal the green gem around its silver case. Kahoko had no idea how it had happened. It was as if she was being controlled by magic. _

_The queen looked at it first with curious eyes as the necklace remained on Kahoko's hand. Kahoko tried to stammer an apology, but she was silenced when the queen suddenly plucked the necklace from her hand and right before Kahoko's eyes, the necklace changed back to gold, a bright majestic golden color. Kahoko blinked twice before rubbing her eyes and looking at the necklace caught in between Misa's fingers. The latter smiled at her and politely thanked her._

_Kahoko stood there, awe-struck. The same could be said to Kira, but he snapped back to attention faster than Kahoko did. Kira was again about to start berating Kahoko until the queen appeared again and handed Kahoko's book back and dismissed her. The maid gladly followed the queen's orders without another thought and hastily left. She secretly relished the dumbstruck face of Kira when she walked passed him. _

_She still wondered how the necklace turned back to its original color though._

Nao snapped her fingers for the third time in front of the dazed Kahoko's face, while Mio waved a hand as well. It was only when a book was bounced off the bed and unto the floor from Mio's movement did Kahoko jump up on the broken down mattress. She held her fist in front of her face and made her stance like a boxer would. She was looking around her and then, Mio and Nao's laughter perked her ears. She blinked again before losing her stance and scratching her head. Confused, she asked, "What happened?"

Her fellow maids were still laughing hard. Nao managed to speak in between laughs, "You were dozing off and when you woke up, you made this weird pose." Mio tried to imitate Kahoko's pose and this made the two laugh even more. Kahoko relaxed and released a sigh as she jumped off the couch and sat back on it. She propped her arm on her knee before placing her head on the palm of her bent arm. She huffed, "When are you two going to finish laughing?"

After a few moments, they had settled down though Mio's shoulders were still quaking. Kahoko grabbed the book from where she had tossed it minutes ago. Mio and Nao settled on either side of Kahoko as Kahoko tested her fingertips on the hard cover of the book. Mio pointed and exclaimed, "That's what they call a book, right? It's pretty rare since they just started producing them." The brunette looked at Kahoko and narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "You didn't steal it, did you?"

Kahoko quickly shook her head and suddenly felt the weight of the book leave her lap. She saw Nao happily flipping the book in her hands as she scanned the book. Kahoko had always been illiterate all her life, but there was one word she could not forget…the word "fairytale". She didn't know why, but that was one of the only words she could read.

"Cinderella…"

The voice made Kahoko and Mio jump as Nao slowly traced her finger through the long list of stories in the book. Nao nodded to herself and claimed, "Yeah, Cinderella sounds like a good story to read." The two maids were staring at Nao with wide eyes. Nao made a confused face before both said at the same time, "You can read?"

The black-haired maid nodded as if it was nothing and she began to flip it to the indicated page in the table of contents. She grinned widely when the title "Cinderella" was seen in big, cursive letters. The other two approached her and stared at her, waiting for her to answer their unasked question. Nao noticed this and stared at her best friends as well. She gestured the book and asked, "Is it wrong for me to be able to read?" She paused slightly, being thoughtful at first before continuing, "Or being able to write, in fact."

Both froze as the realization dawned unto them. Normally, maids or other servants and slaves were not able to experience the joys of reading and writing as royalty and some middle-class people were able to. Mio and Kahoko themselves were illiterate and wasn't able to read or write except for a few simple words.

Mio and Kahoko approached Nao and grabbed her by the arms, letting the book fall on the black-haired girl's waiting lap. Nao was surprised at their aggressiveness, but was also sort of expecting it. Nao's brown eyes bored into each of her friend's eyes. She locked with Kahoko's chocolate orbs and said, "No, I'm not born from royalty or middle-class in fact. I was taught by my sister who is a teacher."

She then proceeded to Mio's violet ones and nodded. She held the book again and flipped it back to the page it originally was and pointed, "I know what a book has inside and how it is "used"…" Here she made quotation marks in the air. The page she was on was full of lines made up of words on the left and numbers on the right side. "This is the table of contents. This is where you can see what's inside the book or you can just look up the summary somewhere."

Nao sheepishly scratched her head when the two illiterates cocked their heads to the side in utter confusion. She merely sighed and flipped it back to Cinderella, "I'll just read this story to you guys instead. You'll at least get a taste of what a fairy tale is." They shifted closer to Nao. She turned the page again and started the story:

_Once there was a widower who married a proud and haughty woman as his second wife. She had two daughters who were equally vain. By his first wife, he had had a beautiful young daughter who was a girl of unparalleled goodness and sweet temper. The Stepmother and her daughters forced the first daughter to complete all the housework. When the girl had done her work, she sat in the cinders, which caused her to be called "Cinderella". The poor girl bore it patiently, but she dared not tell her father, who would have scolded her; his wife controlled him entirely._

The two were listening attentively and somehow in her mind, Kahoko was relating the facts to her personal life. Like Cinderella, Kahoko had her share of misfortunes in the family. Though she had lived her entire life in poverty, her father had died when she was young, leaving her mother to support their family of four. Her elder brother was forced to work his butt off and in the end; he had died from over fatigue and illness. Her older sister also tried her best to support the family and now works as a maid in the Earth Region. Her poor mother was also working and she sold knitted products and food in the Fire Territory. When Kahoko reached the age of 16, her mom had gone got herself employed in the Water Land. She still does the same thing, while Kahoko works as a maid.

_One day the Prince invited all the young ladies in the land to a ball so he could choose a wife. As the two Stepsisters were invited, they gleefully planned their wardrobes. Although Cinderella assisted them and dreamed of going to the dance, they taunted her by saying a maid could never attend a ball._

The maids and servants were allowed to see and attend the ball…provided they have enough money for a good dress. Everyone in the household opted not to attend anymore, well except Frederick maybe, because they didn't want to spend money on a silly gown or suit that they would be using only once and or they were already too tired to do anything anymore. Kahoko could only imagine what the ball was like as the music suddenly started blasting through the walls of the maid chambers.

The ballroom's decorations were able to be finished in time at least and looked spectacular under the bright chandeliers of the room. There were long tables prepared for the guests and foods of all sorts were laid out on it in lavish chinaware and priceless goblets. That was merely on one side of the extravagant ballroom. On the other side of it, a huge space was reserved for dancing. After all, what's a ball without some ballroom dancing?

In the middle, a huge staircase was constructed where in the guests would flow inside one by one. A long red carpet was stretched across the room that led from the stairs to the other side where the king and queen sat. Their thrones where partially covered with blue drapes on either side. In the middle of it, the royal seal was yet again present. This arrangement was made so that the royal couple can observe the guests as they went in the palace.

If Kahoko strained her ears a little more, she could hear the distinct sound of the orchestra and the sound of the trumpets as royalty or nobles came through the door. She could hear the gruff voice of Hiroto Kanazawa as he announced the names of the guests with a bored tone. "The Fuyuumi family with their daughter Lady Shouka Fuyuumi." Kahoko had seen the music teacher before when she was on one of her way to do her chores. She would see him in the garden frolicking with a fat cat until he's ratted out by Kira and is forced to go back inside.

He had a good body built and a rather young-looking face. His violet pink hair wasn't a shocking color. It was in a rather depressing shade. He had droopy golden eyes and a goatee that looked like a morning beard. He was quite handsome considering his facial structure, but his laid back attitude was sort of a turn off and it made look like nothing more than a lazy bum.

_As the sisters swept away to the ball, Cinderella cried in despair. Her Fairy Godmother magically appeared and vowed to assist Cinderella in attending the ball. She turned a pumpkin into a coach, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She then turned Cinderella's rags into a beautiful gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Godmother told her to enjoy the ball, but return before midnight for the spells would be broken._

Kahoko inwardly laughed at this. She recalled a meeting she had with the fairy that afternoon. It was said in the kingdom that if you were ever to spot a fairy, you'll be granted happiness for life. She barely noticed that Nao had stopped reading as Mio asked a question from her on what a fairy godmother was. The storyteller scratched her head and said, "Well, I guess she must be like a fairy only a little bigger." She pointed to a black and white picture of the scene that she had just told.

The picture was the drawing of Cinderella and her fairy godmother. Cinderella had tumbling locks of golden hair that her hidden under a dirty bandana, fair skin that was covered in soot and a perfect face that was tears. Her body was slender as it was visible even through her rags. The fairy godmother on the other hand was the same size as Cinderella. She had two fairy wings protruding her back and she was considerably older than her.

She had the figure of a kind elder. Her gray hair was tied in a tight bun under her pointy red cap and she had small glasses perched on her nose. Her gown was the same color as her hat and she held a stick with a star on it. She thinks it was called a wand.

Mio nodded her head in understanding and ushered Nao to continue. Before she started though, she began to notice something. Kahoko was still thinking deeply as she continued to observe the picture and sighed to herself. She never wished to be a princess as it was even impossible wishing for it. She was snapped out of her thoughts though when Nao started pointing something that was on her.

Mio was as lost as Kahoko until she also spotted it and started waving her hands as well. It was suddenly starting to get bright in the room as thousands of small sparkles surrounded Kahoko and before her squeak could pierce the room, she vanished with the sparkles and all. Mio and Nao just stood there dumbfounded. The book was laid forgotten on the floor.

"She will be our new princess!" The messenger exclaimed.

Kahoko had only one thought as she looked at the faces in the ballroom, _'How in the world did this happen?'_

Author's Note: Thank heavens this chapter is done! I'm sorry, so so so so so so so sorry for the late update! I placed the fic on hiatus long enough till my long exams are done so that I can update this faster during the summer break. We had so much to prepare for I mean with a batch play and stuff. Please look forward to the next chap sometime next week and this is a secret gift to my lil bro who celebrated his bday this March 14. Sorry for any grammatical and spelling errors. Hope you'll enjoy this chap as much as the first.

Acknowledgements: Thank YOU dear readers for giving me the motivation to finish this. And thank you, Wikipedia!

PS. Len is winning the votes so far! Continue voting for the best man for Kahoko and the end will be decided by you guys.


	3. Chapter 3: Surprises and Explanations

Cinderella

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda D'Oro.

Chapter 3: Surprises and Explanations

The ball was in full motion. There was food being served and music being played. People flock the royal jesters spread out in the ballroom and several couples had stepped out on the dance floor and was starting to waltz across the beige marble floor tiles. The large window on either side of the place gave off the beautiful night scenery. The full moon was out without any clouds obstructing it. It's light cast a romantic and mysterious glow on the palace as the heavy glass doors leading to the garden were also open. This allowed guests to come back and forth in the garden and ballroom.

Len Tsukimori looked out briefly at the moon. He heard someone comment on it, 'It's such a lonesome scene.' In a way, he knew that person was right. Only the moon was present in the dark sky...not a star was out. He sighed to himself, dusting invisible lint from his expensive suit. The blue cape behind him flowed as he moved away from the pillar he was leaning on. His white double buttoned coat was adorned with yellow intricate designs and this was the same for his white dress pants. To complete the whole thing, he had also worn white shoes for it.

Len had always been the lone wolf and he detested parties, especially extravagant ones like these, because it always involved being social. He was very observant and when he was bored, he would usually look at people's clothing because it describes what kind of person they were as well as they're taste. For the fifth time that night, he shooed away yet another woman who had wanted to ask him to dance. A heated golden glare from him would shut them up and walk away from him. He actually hadn't wanted to be present today, needing to practice more on his violin. Music was a sign of royalty in the land of Seiso, so only the royal family and some potential ones were taught to play instruments. In fact, the orchestra that's playing for the ball right now are nobles who wanted to show off their talent. He had to admit though...they were pretty good.

He was only attending the party, because his parents had told him that a special announcement was to be made in this particular ball. He wasn't particularly interested in it, but his mother had especially insisted on it and it was a fact in the family that nobody can defy Queen Misa Hamai-Tsukimori. He sighed and clutched a few locks of his blue hair that were hanging on his forehead.

"Having fun, Prince Tsukimori?" Someone asked, approaching him with a smile.

"Not even a bit." he said bluntly.

The person chuckled and patted a gloved hand on the Water Island prince's shoulder. This was when Len finally took in the appearance of the man and acknowledge him as the prince of the Earth Region. Azuma Yunoki took Len's hand and firmly shook his hand. Len had seen the young man once or twice in several parties, but he had never talked to him...until now that is. Azuma's long vibrant purple hair was tied in a low ponytail. He wore a silk black coat that followed his every movement. From underneath it, Len could decipher a yellow dress shirt with brown black dress pants. The equally yellow ruffles on the top on his chest was flashy, but suited him rather well. His polished black boots shone The man's face was as if not even prettier than a girl's. Azuma's gold eyes twinkled with mystery as Len's only held boredom in them.

"You're not very sociable, are you Prince Tsukimori?" Azuma had asked, "I rarely see you in these kind of parties."

"Well, an announcement was supposed to be made and mother said it was fairly important. Plus, she said it would keep me interested enough to kill a little time."

The violet-haired prince tapped a finger on his chin and said, "My grandmother had also said something that. I hear it's big news and it would definitely change the way we think."

Here Len quirked a slender eyebrow and when he was about to ask Azuma for more details, the trumpets had stopped him, shortly followed by Hiroto Kanazawa's lazy droning, "The king of Water Island has an announcement to make." This made the entire ballroom quiet and the guests that were loitering in the garden came flooding back into the ballroom.

"The prince's of each kingdom will step forth as I call their names..." Hirorto continued on, unraveling a scroll.

"The Fire Territory's prince Kiriya Etou of the Etou family." With this, a young man stepped forth from the crowd and promptly crossed his arms on his chest. The red hair on the man's face fit well to being their kingdom controlling the element of fire. It was also a noticeable fact that Kiriya was a hot-tempered individual as his eyebrows were twitching and his black leather shoes was tapping impatiently on the floor. His brown eyes were focused solely on the floor as he tried to patiently wait for the others. Len was surprised to see that he wasn't the only one who thought that this party was useless. Taking a closer look, the guy wore a red double chested coat that reached to the bottom of his chest and his yellow dress shirt trailed and you could see it was neatly tucked into his white pants as the coat extended to his back forming a fork in the end.

Hiroto cleared his throat, focusing everybody's attention back to him. He unraveled the scroll further and said, "I'm afraid the royal family of the Air Land has failed to attend the party again this year so we will move unto the prince of the Earth Region, Azuma Yunoki of the Yunoki family." As soon as these words had slipped passed the man's lips, squeals from the maidens of the room started to resound in the ballroom as they giggled and oogled at Azuma as waved a hand at them gracefully, making them giggled even more. Len was getting annoyed as each second passed and was about to snap, but someone had done that first. Prince Kiriya was barking at the girls to pipe down and most of them did, fearful of the prince, while the others were contained by Akihiko Kira.

"And last but not the least, our very own prince of Water Island, Len Tsukimori of the Tsukimori family." Hiroto continued before finally rolling the scroll back to how it was originally and bowed before exiting the pedestal he was standing on. Len took his position beside Azuma and waited as his father took the stage. Trumpets sounded as he stepped on the pedestal and the queen seemingly glided to her spot beside the king as her green gown flowed beneath her. The other members of Seiso's royalty stepped forth as well.

The ruler of the Earth Region was seemingly proud and strong old woman. She represented her sick bedridden son along his wife who was taking taking care of him. The ring on her bony finger sparkled proudly which clashed slightly with her beautiful silk gray kimono although she didn't seem to mind. Her gray hair was tied in a tight ponytail that was pinned together with a gold dragon ornament. She stood proudly and with a straight back despite her age.

The entire Etou clan was present on the grand festivities. The Fire Territory's king was heartily laughing as he gulped on a golden goblet like he was dying of thirst. His wife, on the other hand, was talking quite actively with Misa who politely answered all her questions. The Fire Territory's royal family always wore red, signifying that they were fierce and strong as well as brave. "After all, the heart of a warrior is red." The king would usually quote.

Len's father silenced them as well with a wave of his hand and cleared his throat. He announced, "First of all, I would like to thank all of you for attending the ball tonight." Here a few murmurs were heard before he continued, "As you all know, every year, we would hold the annual royal's ball as a sign of good will and peace among our lands and this year, we, the royal family of Water Island, have the honor of hosting it this year. I thank you dearly for this." Here the king bowed low and Misa did so as well. Cheers and applauds resounded in the room as they praised the king and his wife. Len's faded blue haired father rose again and silenced the crowd as he spoke again, "And this year, we were bestowed with yet another honor...the fairies' title."

Len looked at his father strangely and quirked an eyebrow. This was new...never once had he heard of this and fairies were a rare sight even for them, the inhabitants of Water Island where the fairies were supposed the reside. He saw that the royal families of both the Fire Territory and the Earth Region now had a (more) serious look on their faces. Before he could continue his train of thought, his father had continued on with his speech, "All of the youths of nobles and siblings of the princes, please step forth." While the teenagers and children of the rich dwellers were confused and noisy as they moved up front, the adults remained quiet as if they had known that this would happen. He glanced over at the other two princes beside him and he could see that Azuma had that smile plastered on his face, while as Kiriya was sweating bullets and his eyebrow were furrowed so deep...it as if it would be permanently etched on his face.

Extending both his arms as if he was about to embrace someone, the Water Island king expressed, "We now welcome you all to do second part of our ball, the fairies' title. It shall now begin. I hand the stand over to Queen Misa." He assisted her, taking her gloved elbow and hand. The queen smiled at him and said thank you delicately. Len thought it was funny that his father didn't call Misa his lovely wife or his beautiful queen or some other endearing pet name. He shrugged it off, thinking it was merely because it was a very formal event. His mother was right...this was interesting.

His thirst for knowledge kept him in place as he wanted to know more about this fairies' title. It had certainly piqued his interest as Misa began to speak in a strong yet still gentle voice, "Well, for those who don't know, the fairies title is a ball we, the royal families of Seiso, hold every twenty years. We always wait for twenty years as this would give enough time for a new generation to arise, a new generation of royalty." At this juncture, the Earth Region and the Fire Territory's royal families had retreated to the sidelines, giving the spotlight to Misa.

Here the murmurs increased further as the queen smiled, her lips curling into a mysterious chilling smile. Len had been paying attention to the queen as he could see that something was strange with the queen...something very very strange. The queen clapped her hands together to let the crowd settle down. "But before that..." she said suddenly and she snapped her fingers together. Sparkles started to form beside the queen. At first, it was barely noticeable until it slowly began to form in the shape of a girl. The form surprised him what would his mother be conjuring a girl out of all spells. His mother was after all the greatest sorceress in the land.

And then, all the sparkles and magic disappeared, leaving only a girl. The girl had shaggy red hair under a white and black cap, big brown eyes that were widened in surprise and fear, pretty lips forming an "o" and her slim body covered in the Water Island maid outfit which was all tattered and dirty. She was one of their maids and the same maid that was in his room today and crumpled up his music sheets. He could hear Akihiko Kira behind him seethed, "What is THAT maid doing there?! And why did the queen summon her?" And people began to talk behind his back. They were asking questions like "Who is she?" or "Isn't she a mere maid?"However, the room was yet again silenced by the queen. She raised a hand towards the redhead who also didn't know why she was there. She announced, "She's now a princess." The messenger, Frederrick, exclaimed in horror, "She will be our new PRINCESS?!"

Kahoko was dumbfounded and all she could think of as she stared at the people in the ballroom was, '_How in the world did this happen?_' One moment, she was in her room with Mio and Nao just reading that fairytale book, right at the part where Cinderella had arrived in the ball and she astonished everyone with her beauty. Well, in Kahoko's case right now...they were astonished alright...probably by her dirty state and maid clothes. She had no idea why she was there. She glanced at the queen questioningly who still had that mysterious smile playing on her lips. While Kahoko was still staring sightlessly at the queen, Kahoko got startled when the queen suddenly snapped her head and directed her smile to Kahoko. That smile...sent shivers down her spine.

The queen tapped her chin thoughtfully as she looked at Kahoko from head to toe. She pointed out the maid's dress and said, "We should do something about your dress, your hair and your shoes." Kahoko blushed at this...it wasn't like she could afford to buy a new dress. Misa still had that smile on her face as she snapped her fingers and the magic was back. The sparkles surrounded Kahoko yet again as she felt her clothes beginning to change. Kahoko began to fidget under it, not liking the feeling she was getting from it as it began to form higher and higher until it reached the top of her head. When she was finally on the verge of breaking from the sparkles as it started to suffocate her, it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared and what it left was a dress beyond her imagination.

Silence echoed across the room. Len could've sworn that he could hear everyone's heartbeat at that moment as he gulped. He didn't know that his mom was a designer or a hair stylist-he liked the sound of that word-, because the way she made that maid up was...he couldn't sum it up in words. The way her red hair was pulled behind in an elegant French braid, leaving two strands artfully loose. Her face was painted beautifully and her pretty lips shone with that red stuff that women usually put to make their lips more attractive. Her cheeks were blushed red in a very natural way that...oh wait, that was a blush, but her cheeks were tinted a nice pink. Brown eyes seemed more magnificent than it was before and the pink sparkling tube dress complimented both her eyes and her body...hold the phone, Len Tsukimori was not going to drool over a maid, even though she looked so nice. He was snapped from his inner debate when Misa brought the attention back to herself with another clap of her hands.

"Now, Miss Kahoko Hino is dressed like a princess, but why? Do you say that she become a princess? Well, all will be revealed momentarily, but first..." the queen trailed as she raised both her arms and she began to change form. She grew tinier and tinier until she was no bigger than the Fire Kingdom king's large hand. A wrinkly voice erupted from the small form's lips, "Ah, that's much better..." And before the crowd, a tiny old man was floating on top cloud. From the balding top of his head to the long white beard, hardly visible wrinkly eyes and that ever so present smile, he looked like one of those elders that floated on golden clouds in the sky with a halo behind him. To say that Len was surprised was an understatement.

Kiriya Etou raised another eyebrow. This party was getting interesting by the second. He thought I would in another one of those stiff adult like parties where everyone would just spend the night away, dancing, drinking and stuffing their faces till dawn. All the adult talk and adult games bore him to death always and he was planning on ditching the party as soon as it started, but he had been kept in place by his father as there was some news that was to be announced...well, perhaps he should thank the old man after all. The events that were currently unfolding had very well glued him to his place and for once, he didn't feel like having a confrontation with his chess board later on. He glanced over at the Water Island prince's face and smirked. That look on his face was priceless and in actuality, he sort of expected to see that kind of expression on the azure-haired prince's face when you find out that you're mother was really an old geezer. He averted his gaze to the prince's father who was...just calm and not reacting at all like the son which was strange.

Commotion began to erupt inside the room. The elder merely sighed, "Ah, youngsters these days...they're surprised by almost everything." He brought out a small wooden stick from under his yellow robes and positioned the stick by his side.

Azuma Yunoki calmly stared at the situation. He wasn't the least bit surprised of the current events until the girl beside the figure screamed and pointed at it. He thought, '_This girl was a maid, right?'_ He wondered what was so strange with this girl compared to the rest. The old man was a fairy if he remembered right after seeing the many drawings of them on his fantasy book. Also, he wondered why people were acting so strangely. Some were trying to still find for the figure, while others were squinting really, really hard at him.

Silence was again an element of the room when the Water Island king stood beside the figure. Kahoko was startled as the man offered the fairy his hand and the latter got on it. Len's father brought the elder to face level and said politely, "Elder, I would really appreciate it if you could give me my wife back." The Elder chuckled and from behind Kahoko, Kahoko could've worn that she heard a giggle behind her. She whipped her head around and saw no one. _'That was strange,' _she thought,_ 'I could've sworn I heard somebody behind me.' _

_"There is _someone behind you."

The hairs on Kahoko's back rose as she squeaked and quickly turned around. There she saw Misa Hamai-Tsukimori, holding a golden wand in one hand and using the other to cover her mouth. Her heart pounded terribly in her ribcage and she swore if it didn't stop soon...she would have a heart attack. The king paced to his queen's side and pecked her cheek gently. She knew this one was the real one, witnessing the king's public display of affection. Gathering up all her courage, she asked the royal couple the question that was lingering all around, "What's happening, your Majesty?"

Len was surprised...now he wasn't getting anything at all. That maid had guts, he can give her that as credit. As these words left her mouth, Misa turned back to her, her husband wrapping an arm around her slender waist. She took two steps until Misa was in front of Kahoko, startling Kahoko while Misa grabbed both of Kahoko's hands. She told her, "You, dear child, as of today is part of the royal families of Seiso. Though which land you should belong to is the question...how'd you like to live here and marry Len someday?" That got Len moving and as he was about to object, his father got to Len's mother first, "Dear, you're scaring the poor girl and you should probably explain why she is going amidst our lifestyle and why things would never be the same. You don't want to leave them hanging now, do you?" It seemed as if he too wanted an explanation.

Another moment of silence passed before the queen faced the crowd once more, letting go of one of Kahoko's hands and bringing her down the stairs that led to the throne room until they were in the middle of the ballroom, behind the princes and in front of the crowd. She held her wand in one hand and waving it in a circle she seemingly opened a portal. From that portal, Kahoko could see a tiny egg with wings emerging and slowly it rested on the queen's palm. She announced, peering at all the faces of the young nobles and princes, "To those who could see the object in my hand, even if its just the faintest glance, please step forward." Len scoffed at this and murmured under his breath, "Why wouldn't anyone be able to see that?" He stepped forward nonetheless as well as the other princes.

Kahoko was hesitant at first, but also took a step forward. Several other teenagers took their step forward as well. Their number was vast, but those that remained were far more greater in numbers. The queen sighed in disappointment at this sight. And Kahoko could also see from the corner of her eye that the Earth Region queen's eyebrows furrowed more and the Fire Territory's royal family had a less jovial mood than usual. Talk started to circulate again, but this time it was among the adults and suddenly, some were looking glum, while others sighed in relief. The redhead still had no idea what was going on until that old fairy came to where they were, counting the number of people that had stepped forward and after doing so, he sighed to himself, "There's definitely a huge decrease compared to before." The people he observed started to point at him. Most can see him in a blur, while some just can't see him anymore.

The slightly blue-haired king seemed disappointed as well. Len could see his parents' as well as other nobles' worry etched on their faces. He looked at the egg with tiny wings his mom held and the old fairy beside her. What was the big deal with these fairies? So what if he could see them as clear as day...what about it?

Could it have some relation to his status?

Azuma observed the egg and fairy once more, then to the portal above their heads. His view as just a lil bit blurry, but nonetheless he could see them. He took note of the rumor that when you see a fairy, you are extremely lucky and will be granted happiness or something.

Perhaps it was because only those of royal blood could see them clearly and those not worthy of the title will be cast back as peasants or if they could see at least a little, they would be nobles.

The green-haired queen bit her lip before she exhaled and spoke, "Let me explain clearly. I have asked you people first who could see the fairies or not, so as none of you would cheat when I tell you...that all of those who couldn't even see a blur of this egg, are officially stripped off their titles as nobles." Here a rouse started and teenagers started to object. Funny thing was their parents were quiet and didn't offer a peep. As the noise started getting louder and louder, Kiriya finally had enough and stomped a foot loudly on the ground. This had caught everybody's attention and he bellowed angrily, "I'm growing tired of this ruckus!" He pointed a finger to Misa and spat, "I want you to explain everything to me...to us!"

As these words left his mouth, immediately, Akihiko Kira was before him and had apprehended him through the arm. He growled threateningly, "Nobody talks to the queen that way...NOBODY!!" Through this all however, Misa had remained calm and didn't even flinch from Kiriya's outburst. She approached the hot-headed prince in easy steps until she was a foot away from him. She ordered the prince to be released, placing a hand on the teacher's shoulder. Kira released the arm he held and took a step back, but he was still cautiously eyeing the prince who was now adjusting his wrinkled coat.

The queen said casually, "I will explain everything when the time is right. However, I would like to say that everyone who has seen the egg would remain as they are unless...they weren't able to see the elder fairy..." Here she faced away from Kiriya and turned back to her audience. She began walking in a circle, observing each and every face. She spoke as she did so, "Every twenty years...we hold a ball like this where we introduce fairies and get to know new ones. And each time we do so...the number of nobles and sometimes even royal families decreases. Before everything, Seiso was not only divided into four, but she was divided into so much more. However, as time passed, we began to lessen and even now..." She raised her head in which now she was face to face with Kahoko once more. Misa approached the girl and grabbed her hand. She continued, "This year, it turned out to unexpected...very unexpected. A commoner was able to spot both the fairy and surely, the egg. This was discovered by a young fairy who was born a few weeks ago. We even applied a few tests on her. Everyone please form a circle."

As soon as the circle was formed, she unclasped the necklace around her neck and Kahoko's eyes immediately widened. It was the same necklace as the one she held this afternoon in her chambers. Misa went away from Kahoko and walked around the circle they had formed, holding out the necklace and holding it to their foreheads. She passed by a few people, but nothing happened that was until she reached a green-haired man with big, childish like features. The emerald had glowed red and turned into a ruby for a split second after which Misa snatched it away from his forehead and it turned back to emerald She sweetly asked for the boy's name and giggled when the guy stuttered.

Kahoko heard him say, "K-K-K-Kazu-zu-zu-ki Hi-Hihara..." The maid had to admit that he was cute in a childish sort of way, especially the way he blushed. His green hair looked as if he hadn't combed it before he left his house, his golden brown eyes were wide with surprise and innocence and the way his tanned skin complimented the brown coat with yellow dress shirt was brilliant. Kahoko heard the queen thank him before she moved unto the next. This continued on and on until six people were chosen from the circle. Each with the emerald turning to ruby.

It was finally her turn and everyone in the room held their breath. Kahoko closed her eyes, already knowing that she was no royalty and she didn't want to feel the humiliation it would bring her. She felt the ruby being pressed to her forehead and suddenly, the stone felt hot on her skin. She quickly opened her eyes to see that a blinding flash of white was being produced from it. She flinched away from the stone and stepped back. She could see that the queen herself was just as surprised as she was seeing as she froze in her position. her husband rushed to her side and her grip on the necklace grew lax and she dropped it when she suddenly felt woozy. She was panting and Kahoko herself was shivering. What had she done?

The queen had managed to say in between pants, "Such power...this reaction...I have never seen it before, but if there's a reaction...it definitely means she's part of the royal blood...very strongly related to our bloodline." She stopped panting and regained her composure before saying again, "Now that I have determined the royalty in this circle...there are seven in total, two girls and five boys. It's an improvement compared to before at least...that's a good sign. And now a final test, in which I have already tested Kahoko...this afternoon."

Silence remained as no one moved an each when the queen approached the only other female in the group and asked her to hold out her hand. The girl, Shouka Fuyuumi, held out her hand shakily. The girl was younger than Kahoko and she looked like a china doll with her pale skin, rosy cheeks, short peach hair and big brown eyes. Her outfit consisted of a cute puffy yellow dress that consisted of frills and ribbons. She was sweating a bit from the nervousness and her palm was getting clammy. The queen gently laid the necklace on her hand, but then nothing happened. Misa lifted the necklace and placed it back around her neck. She thanked Shouka who looked like she was a bout to faint and walked again towards Kahoko.

Here the queen excitedly held both of Kahoko's hands and said, "You are now hereby a full princess. No more doubt and tests will be placed on you. Not only will you be the princess, but you'll also be a sorceress, like me since that lace changes to silver when someone with magic abilities other than the owner touches it. Sweat contains your magic power and I know it's disgusting...I thought too at first... and yet...it's still gross. You have so much to learn with so little time..." Misa continued to babble on in the quiet room as Kahoko getting confused by the second.

Princess?

Sorceress?!

'_This can't be happening.'_ This was a thought that echoed out in all the crowd's heads. The events that happened left Kahoko confused, Kira disturbed, Azuma indifferent, Kiriya irritated, Len surprised, Kazuki speechless, Frederrick feeling faint, Misa cheery, the Water Island king grinning and the crowd and royal families silent.

Meanwhile, the maids were still investigating for the missing Kahoko...life just can't get any better.

Kahoko wished that that pesky fairy had never dragged her into this mess.

Oh joy.

Author's Note: That...was confusing. Okay...so its a little over a week, but hey, at least it's up now. Going out of town tomorrow so I decided to place this chapter before I get too busy. Now, I'm wondering how do I get more people to read this and how to make it not boring. Feel free to give suggestions and comments through your reviews and I seriously want you people to give me more feedback. Also, I REALLY REALLY NEED a beta... I'm still opening the votes for best man on Kaho, but for those LenKaho fans, a little action for you guys. :D A gift from a fellow LenKaho fan..hehe

Sorry for any grammatical errors and misspellings. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Stay tuned.


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